☀️ GOOD MORNING:
It’s official.
No team is immune to a terrible losing stretch this season, no matter where they find themselves among the NL Pennant odds.
We know the Mets stubbed their toe in June. Their three-week demise beginning just after the Phillies dropped 10 of 12. The Cubs have lost five of seven on two separate occasions. The Brewers started the season 0–4 and lost seven of 10 in May before going on their latest run. The Giants recently escaped a 4–12 slide. The Padres have had several long losing streaks, including a six-game swoon in May.
And now, even the Dodgers, have lost six in a row for the first time since 2019.
Who needs a salary cap? Health (or lack thereof) is the great equalizer. No amount of payroll can overcome the inevitable ailments and slumps that catch every team.
It’s what makes baseball both rewarding and frustrating: in the same year a team wins a championship, they can play like absolute dog poo for several stretches on the calendar. Remember this as we watch the next few months. There are more downs to come. The final team standing isn’t the one who plays perfect baseball the longest, but the one who plays good enough to qualify for the playoffs and times their best play in October.
🌧️ LET’S PLAY TWO: After a rainout on Wednesday, the Mets will play a split doubleheader at 12:00 and 5:00 today.
Interleague: That makes five games against Baltimore and Kansas City over the final four days before the break. The Mets have struggled a bit against American League competition this year, going 14–14, compared to 39–25 versus the Senior Circuit. With Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea returning to the rotation, they will try to head into the break with some positive momentum.
NOTE: When you write a baseball newsletter, you learn to plan your vacation around the All-Star Break. Or, I finally learned after five years of doing this. I will be on a Disney Cruise next week, so you won’t hear from me after tomorrow until July 21. Blake will fill in for me with an issue on Monday, we will take Tuesday-Thursday off during the break, and Blake and Peter will drop a podcast to get you ready for the second half next Friday.
☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!
☄️ RISING PROSPECT
One of the best storylines of the 2025 season has been the progression of Nolan McLean. The former two-way prospect has turned into one of the best young arms in baseball by focusing on his pitching talents.
Just six days after a 10-strikeout performance in Worcester, the young right-hander tossed perhaps his best start as a professional, striking out 10 more batters over six shutout innings on Wednesday.
He’s doing it with a deep mix of pitches, unleashing six different offerings to keep Lehigh Valley off balance. He generated at least two whiffs on five of those pitches, while also buckling knees with his curveball.
By the end of the night, McLean earned 21 called strikes on top of inducing 17 whiffs on 40 swings (43%). It added up to his sixth start of the season in which he didn’t allow a baserunner to cross the plate, lowering his ERA to 2.17 across two levels.
I mean, look at this sweeper:
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